Target Group and Admission Requirements

Students must meet general admission requirements.

The target group includes applicants who wish to work in cultural mediation, such as those wishing to work in festivals; museums and cultural centres; project-oriented activities and voluntary organisations; and in public cultural administration at the local and regional level. Each academic year constitutes an independent unit, enabling students with other relevant educational backgrounds to apply to begin with the second or third year of the study programme.

Aim of the Programme

The main objective of the study programme is to qualify candidates to work in public or private cultural initiatives. The study programme will develop the student’s competence in planning, organising and mediating. This involves understanding the internal and external premises for such mediation. The student will also develop a comprehensive understanding of cultural life, processes of change and trends as well as the conditions which are relevant to culture in society. The study places heavy emphasis on viewing cultural life from an analytical perspective. Over the course of the study programme, students will develop their ability to discuss, analyse and evaluate.

Learning outcome

Successful candidates will have acquired the following learning outcomes in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

The candidate has:

- A thorough overview of the structural development of the areas of responsibility and activities within the field of culture relating to state, county and local cultural management

- Insight into the working processes and areas of responsibility within the publicly supported cultural sector

- The ability to communicate in relevant ways, orally and in writing, using cultural insights and expertise

- The capacity for critical analysis concerning the area of cultural activities

Skills

The candidate can:

- Analyze and interpret oral and written cultural material

- Communicate in an appropriate way with an audience, cultural experts and politicians who have a culture-professional orientation and interest

- Communicate, organize and arrange artistic/cultural expressions and products for a general audience

General competence

The candidate has the ability to:

- Communicate cultural material of interest in a structured and comprehensible manner

- Work independently in different cultural contexts

- Mediate complex and multi-faceted cultural material in an appropriate manner

Curriculum and structure

Cultural Administration is a 3-year Bachelor’s degree programme. The programme is interdisciplinary, and combines the humanities and social sciences disciplines. Through the choice of course specialisation in the second and third years, and the topic for the project/fieldwork in the third year, students can design their own study programmes. The choice of the topic for the project and fieldwork must be related to one of the specialisation courses.

The first year of study offers an introduction to art and cultural history, cultural policy analysis, and multicultural understanding. In the course Writing and Speaking in Practice, students will concentrate their efforts on the development of oral and written personal expression. All of the first-year courses are obligatory. The second year of study is characterised by subjects used in teaching and builds further on Cultural Analysis, which is an obligatory course. In the spring semester, students can choose between the courses Digital Culture, Digital Society; and ICT Mediation and Publication. At this point students choose two specialisation courses. The specialisation courses on offer vary from year to year. During the second year the teaching may be organised into periods.

The third year of study is entrepreneurship-oriented, and involves administrative and project-related courses; students may also choose a specialisation course. During this year, students will choose a topic for their fieldwork and practice in the cultural field. All of the courses are obligatory.

Study trips may be organised during all three years of study. In the introduction week during the first year a study trip in the local region will be arranged. Study trips will also be organised in relation to the individual obligatory courses. During the second year of study, an obligatory study trip will be arranged in the Nordic countries.

Teaching and Learning Methods

The instruction is usually given in the form of lectures and seminars. The programme puts great emphasis on written assignments and oral presentations. The ordinary teaching methods are supplemented with the online teaching tool Classfronter. Several of the courses make attendance at the lectures/sessions a completion requirement. Some of the courses may be organised as workshops.
For more information, please refer to the individual course descriptions.

Theory and Practical Training

This is a course of theoretical study; however, the programme includes one week of practical training during the first year. In the course P3307 Field Work and Report, students will relate theoretical knowledge to practical experience in the context of one of the specialisation courses from the second year.

A seminar will be held each year (usually one to three days), which will focus on culture policy or other relevant topics. Such seminars may be organised in cooperation with external organisations or institutions.

Assessment Methods

Individual written examinations with lettered grades, where A to E represent passing marks, and F a failing mark. Assessments of interim examinations may be included in the final grade of the relevant courses.
Submission of written work and oral presentations.
Term papers.
Students must receive passing marks on all interim examinations and obligatory assignments in order to receive a passing mark for a course.
Please refer to the individual course descriptions for more information regarding their respective examinations.

Minor adjustments may occur during the academic year, subject to the decision of the Dean